Dreamers
X-Factor received word that Senator Ashlock, known for his funding of the Fountain Project, was being blackmailed with the threat of exposing his support of an criminal mutant operation, and his daughter's status as an illegal clone. The blackmail is linked through several victims to Crown Plaza bellhop Matt Grady. Matt is captured and sent to jail after threatened with consequences should he expose any of X-Factor or Fountain Project's secrets. Events Saturday, July 31 *Kestrel, Silas, and Madrox visit and interview Ashlock about the blackmail. He mentions bad dreams, not knowing who could've known about his daughter, gives us a list of political rivals. The emails he was sent mentions other blackmails in the news. These prove fruitful. Sunday, August 1 *Madrox calls up Joey, telepath for the Fountain Project. Like other Fountain Project leads, he proves a dead end. He offers up Anna as a potential lead, but she's dead (probably really). *Kitty talks to Cindy. *Kestrel talks to Gary Dent, one of the blackmail victims. He mentions his daughter is staying in the Crown Plaza and having bad dreams. *A chat with Ashlock's staff reveals that someone's been tromping plants under windows. Monday, August 2 *Madrox and Kestrel talk to odd blackmail victim, Sister Sara Parsons, who is not a mutant, no really. She reports having strange dreams about controlling fire in the Crown Plaza, where she stayed during a conference. Tuesday, August 3 *The team, posing as FBI agents, snatch the Crown Plaza hotel registry and list of staff for analysis. They find Robert Schmidt, brother to political candidate Frank Schmidt, checks in suspiciously frequently. List of staff is sent back to Old Home. *The rest of the blackmail victims are interviewed. Crown Plaza remains a constant. *A tail on Robert and Frank reveals that Frank's dark secret is that he uses a male escort service in the rooms Robert rents. Dead end. Wednesday, August 4 *The team has disturbing dreams that are a little too well-constructed and interrogatory to be normal dreams. Carpenter, Old Home, and al-Sahra are all mentioned, if not described. Thursday, August 5 *Old Home finds that Crown Plaza bellhop Matt Grady hasn't touched his paycheck in some time. His photo matches a couple of characters seen in dreams. He doesn't show up to work, doesn't show up at home. Friday, August 6 *Kestrel wakes up the team mid-dream-the-second and Matt Grady is chased down and apprehended. Brought back to Old Home. Wrap-up *Matt Grady is sent to prison after being threatened with consequences if he reveals anything he learned. Important Evidence People Major *'Senator Ashlock' -- Our most recent blackmail victim. His daughter Cindy's real identity (a clone) is at risk, as is the classified nature of the Fountain Project. *'Matt Grady' -- Enterprising young dreamweaver / blackmailer. Casts himself as a wicked villain sometimes. Now in prison. Minor *'Richard Garvey' -- CFO with a gambling and embezzlement problem, and now everyone knows. *'Gary Dent' -- Wall Street banker whose daughter is a prostitute, and now everyone knows. *'Tanya Dent' -- Dent's daughter, a high-paid prostitute in Las Vegas, who's laid over in Crown Plaza. Her dreams have been troubled. *'Je$$ie' -- Hip hop artist with a cocaine problem, and now everyone knows. *'Sister Sara Parsons' -- Mutant nun, and now everyone know-- except she tested negative. Had troubled dreams while staying in Crown Plaza for a conference. *'Frank Schmidt' -- Political opponent to Ashlock who uses his brother as a front for his nightly dalliances. Red herring. Locations *Washington, DC **Crown Plaza -- hotel where all of our dreamers have had their sleep troubled. **Ashlock's home -- someone is tramping the flowers and entering his dreams from the outside. Links Category:2010 Missions